Cleaning extension cords...

[FDNY1075]

I am in the process of a full detail on a piece of fire apparatus, it has 2 yellow electrical cord reels. They are heavy duty cords, that are rubber or a flexible plastic. I attempted cleaning them with simple green and a brush, then went foot by foot with a mf saturated with simple green. It was an improvement, but these cords are fifthly, covered in ash, dirt, paint, etc.



Is there a good otc product that I can use to try and make these look new? Maybe some sort of solvent?



Thanks

[vtec92civic]

maybe a stronger apc such as Meguairs, CG, or Purple Power. Worse case scenario you may want to try something like goo gone.

[FDNY1075]

Thanks for the input, I would normally try a dozen products until I got it where I feel it`s clean, but I am on a time crunch and wasn`t sure if anyone knew of something that would work much better than the other products.

[bigltc]

I wipe down my cords with a mf and that orange hand cleaner. Orange Glo? not sure of the name.

[D Tailor]

Optimum Power Clean will erradicate the filth. At full strenth, even 1:1 - 3:1...simply unmatched in my opinion.



Edit:



By the way, as I roll up cords after a job, I generally wrap a MF (cheap one) around the cord and wipe it clean as I wind it through .:2thumbs:

[silvercookie]

castrol superclean will definitly get the job done.

[metalwax]

laquer thiner on a rag.

[Lonnie]

I use SuperClean in a 3:1 ratio soaked on a damp rag to clean-n-wipe garden hoses and power extension cords (wear rubber gloves: your hands will thank you), then do a wet-wipe with a damp rag from a bucket of clean water as a rinse, and then wipe with a vinyl protectant, like AeroSpace 303, to keep the rubber on hoses or vinyl on cords pliable.

"Non-detailing" people thing it`s unnecessary, but clean equipment is a reflection (no pun intended) of who you are.

I guess that`s part of the obsessive-compulsive detailing (OCD) "disorder"

[pasadena_commut]

Formula 409 works very well for cleaning electrical cables. Just squirt it on a towel and pull the cable through a few times. Wear rubber gloves.



Keep cleaners away from the metal connectors. Some of those lay down wax or silicone and you don`t want that on the metal. If the metal is really foul use rubbing alcohol to clean them off, but otherwise, leave the metal alone.

[David Fermani]

Roll them up, spray some APC on them and powerwash away keeping H20 away from the ends.

[FDNY1075]

Thanks guys!

[salty]

Fill a pail with strong APC, roll it up and let soak. But keep the ends out of the APC.

If that doesn`t work and you need a solvent, try mineral spirits, but dwell time wouldn`t be very long.